If I Die Young
by Tawnyblood
Summary: If he dies young... Warning: PruCan, FrUk, and character deaths


There's a burning pain in his chest, scarlet warmth spreading across his body and seeping through his clothes as he falls to the ground. He could hear the screaming of the people around him, women and innocent bystanders running around screaming for an ambulance, and his brother grabbing a glass bottle and smashing off its base…

And that was when he jerked awake, scrambling upwards, eyes wide and frantically searching for nothing in particular. A hand with adorned with a single ring rests against his chest and he rubs it, wincing as the pain throbs before it's dulls again. He looks around, mind trying to remember how he managed to end up here.

Last time he remembered he was being rushed off to the hospital…

Wait…

Matthew stares at his hand in mild horror… he wasn't too surprised really. The knife hit him right in the chest and it went in deep, he's just kind of surprised that he died before he was able to get to the hospital. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose before he readjusts his glasses.

And there was a little girl staring up at him, her teal eyes blinking up at him with an innocent curiosity. A small gasp escapes his lips as he stumbles backwards and still she continues staring at him, a little tip in her head. "Are you Mister Matthew Williams?" She inquired, her voice soft like Matthew's, but lacking that timidity in it.

"Uh, yes… who are you?"

A polite smile forms on her face and she curtsies and a light blush forms on Matthew's face. Should he bow? Seriously, what should he do? "I'm here to help you make sure that the people you left behind know that you're doing well." The girl's voice cuts through his thoughts. "Is there somebody on your mind at the moment?"

"Well there are my parents…"

A single clap from the girl and she nods her head knowingly. "Ah yes, parents. They're very important figures in our lives." She says, though Matt realizes that she's talking to herself more than to him. She reaches forth and grabs his hand firmly in her hands before pulling him along to a small lake. There, she plants her feet into the ground and takes a deep breathe. From there, she stretches her arms out over the lake and it reminds Matthew of his British guardian…

Oh wait…

Is she doing magic?

"T-This is my first time doing this so don't get too close…"

Oh… she _is_ doing magic.

At first, the Canadian couldn't see anything happening with the water, but then it started to bubble. Well, not bubble like when water boils, but bubble as in bubbles coming out of the lake. With a delicate puff of air, he blew away a bubble that came too close to his face and swatted away the others. "Hey, is this supposed to be happening?" He asked, blocking his face from the offending bubbles that just keep coming.

"Um… I'm not too sure…"

That makes him feel so safe.

Then that one huge bubble that appeared out of the lake wiped that feeling off the face of… wherever he happened to be.

At least he's dead, right?

The bubble pops with a loud _bang_ and water splatters everywhere, soaking the girl's dress and his pant. Violet eyes bore into teal ones as she giggles nervously and pats her skirt dry (One of the benefits of being dead maybe?). "I-It wasn't too bad for a first time…"

His mouth opens, but closes with a shake of his head and he cautiously steps closer to the lake, eyes narrowed wearily at it. Leaning over, Matthew's heart clenched at the sight that met his eyes. Fingers instinctively ran along the golden band on his finger. "Papa… Dad…"

* * *

"Sssssh, it's going to be okay _mon chérie_. It's going to be alright…" Mumbled a Frenchman, his voice muffled by tears unshed and the neck of his lover. He rubbed soothing circles on the British man's back as Arthur sobbed uncontrollably into Francis's chest, his knuckles white from their death grip on his shirt. "It's going to be alright…"

"How is this going to be okay, you git? My eldest son is in jail and my youngest is murdered!" The smaller blonde snapped from where he had his face buried in Francis's chest. The grip he had on Francis's black jacket tightened as a sob racked his whole entire body and the Frenchman closed down on him protectively as if he could protect the man in his arms from the brutal truth of the world. "I just want my Matthew back. I just want the family back. I just… I just…"

"_Ma chérie_… Do you think Matthew would have liked to see you like this? He also thought of you as the strong one…" Francis joked with a furrow in his eyebrows as he drew Arthur away from his body to look him in the eyes. Correction, he tried to look him in the eyes. It's very hard to do so when you're punched in the gut.

"I'm never going to get your humor…"

"A-And I'm never going to understand why you always go for my stomach. _Dieu, avez-vous travaillé sur?_" Francis managed to say through gritted teeth as his eyes frantically bat away the tears of pain that were starting to gather at the corners. He let out a low groan as he doubled over and dropped to his knees, arms clutching at his stomach.

"Oh get up. I didn't punch you that hard. Matthew always thought you could take a hit." Arthur retorted, sarcasm dripping from every word that comes out of his mouth. Turning his back to Francis, he wiped away a stray tear as emerald eyes begin to scan the area he was standing in.

It was the place where the family would set aside their agenda once a year for a friendly picnic at noon. Flowers sprouted out at every corner, growing with grace every year, prevailing through the snow no matter how tough the winter was. A wind carded itself through Arthur's messy blonde hair as he gazed down at the lake and the trees surrounding it. He watched as people went about their everyday lives, like nobody noticed how somebody was missing on Earth. He blinked back the tears and tilted his head back, eyes closed and he took a deep breath before he saw it…

Something of a smile was on his face.

"Francis… look… right there. I-It's a—"

* * *

"—rainbow…" Alfred muttered to himself from where he sat by the window. "It's a rainbow… Matthew always loved rainbows." A large hand pushed back his bangs as his bottom lip quivered with an effort to not cry at the mention of his baby brother's name. His dead baby brother.

He shuffled away from the window and wiped that single tear that trickled down his cheek before he started fiddling with his fingers, questions running through his mind. Where was Matthew? He was in heaven right? God, what if he wasn't? It was his fault that his brother got involved, so please don't let him miss out… Baby blue eyes were blinking rapidly in a desperate attempt to keep those emotions inside him, emotions Alfred was too proud to release. Just not yet…

The loud clunking of hard boots against the concrete floor captured the American's attention, head jerking up to look at the jail door as one of the officers unlocked his door and flung it open with a loud growl. Blue eyes blinked quizzically at him as the officer shot him one dirty glare before tipping his hat to whoever paid his bail.

His head tipped to the side before eyes widen in shock at who it was that paid his bail money. There, standing at the entrance looking like the angel he was, violet eyes watching with a childish amazement in them at what used to be Alfred's living conditions, was Ivan himself.

"Ivan? You paid my bail? I thought you hated me…"

It was like the Russian finally noticed that he wasn't alone in the cell. He jerked a bit as Alfred spoke before he smiled at him. "I do." He paused to savor that small grimace the American made at how blunt he was with the truth. He shrugged his broad shoulders before taking delicate steps into the cell, cautious as if to make sure he didn't scare Alfred away. "But we're friends at the same time, _da?_ So we must watch out for each other too."

"… What? I don't get it. That's really… _whut_?"

Ivan walked up to Alfred before stopping in front of him and squatting so that he looked up at the bruised and dirty man. "It's the least I could do. You and your family are going through a hard time and this is the least I could do." He paused to readjust the scarf made by his other sister, the one that he is never going to see again even if he wished as hard as he could. "And it doesn't help that you went and attacked the man who stabbed your brother. He's in critical care at the moment, just letting you know." There was a pause of hesitation, a flash of uncertainty on the Russian's face before he spoke again. "Also I… believe Matthew is in a good place. I really do, so I don't think you need to worry about him…"

Now it was Alfred's time to fall silent. He propped his elbow on his knee and rested his head on his hand as he gazed into the Russian's eyes. A snort before the blonde looked away, blue eyes shining and his lip quivering. "I really hope so…" He murmured, his voice cracking as tears started to fall. "I really hope so…" He sobbed, hiding his hands in his palms.

And it was then Ivan did something Alfred never saw coming: Ivan got to his knees, leaned forward, and wrapped Alfred in a gentle hug. The American chocked on his tears before he uncertainly wrapped his arms around the larger man. He didn't bother to quell his tears now as Ivan murmured into his ear, "It's okay, it's going to be okay. A death in the family is always hard, but you have to pull through. They'll want you to…"

"I know…"

* * *

Matthew wiped away a tear he didn't know was there and a small smile that spoke many of great things was on his face. He turned around to look at the young girl whom he came to realize was something of his guardian angel. She smiled back at him, her fingers nimbly fixing the purple ribbon in her hair. "Thanks for making the rainbow… I-I know that they'll know that I'm safe."

"It's not a problem, it's a pleasure to help something tell their loved ones that they're safe." She replied, pushing her chin length hair back behind her ear before she clasped her hands in front of her lap. "Is there anybody else that you would like to see?"

The blonde Canadian glanced fondly at the ring adorning his fourth finger, a simple marriage ring that his husband somehow managed to make himself. He pulled it off his finger to read the small message inscribed inside, unreadable to anybody but himself and Gilbert due to the untrained hands that tried to write it. But that just made it all the more special. "Yeah… there's a man in town…"

* * *

A tall man of German blood sat in front of a tombstone, fingers rubbing the ring on his finger as red eyes stared vacantly at the grave marker. The other two that flanked his side shared a nervous glance over his head before the woman knelt down and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

His lack of reaction worries her.

"Gilbert," She starts, her voice as soothing as she could possibly make it. "If you want to cry you know you can right? We'll look away if you want us too."

The man didn't give look up from where his eyes were gazing. "I'm Prussian. Prussian men… don't cry." Despite what he said, his voice was thick and heavy with self-imposed misery. A hand rose to rub at his swollen eyes, still red and puffy from last night.

This time he flinched, just a tiny bit, when he felt Roderich's hand resting on his back. "It helps to… talk about things." He finished awkwardly, his eyebrows furrowed as his mind tried to figure out a more eloquent way of suggesting the idea.

Yep. There was no other way.

"Ah! T-That is a good idea!" Elizabeta voiced, slapping Gilbert on the back in what should be an encouraging gesture, but he flinched at the contact. She bit her lip, hand quickly retracting itself and she looks over to Roderich for help. The hopeless look on his face tells her that she was probably on her own.

They fell into a silence, nobody willing to break it out of fear of somebody breaking to pieces. Then suddenly Gilbert put out his right hand, put it up against the sky and he stared up at it. His lips quirked up into a smile as he admired how the ring would catch the sun's rays.

"You guys remember my vows?" He paused for a single heartbeat, just long enough for Elizabeta to open her mouth before he continued. "I really did have something prepared… a nice little speech…" He placed his hand down by his side as he stared at the grave of his beloved. "But one look at Matthew, with that goddamn smile on his face and I knew that it wasn't good enough." Gilbert's lips broke into a fond smile as his eyes glazed over, lost in those precious memories with Matthew. "So I ripped up that damn paper, looked him in the face, and said, 'I'll love you forever.'"

A chuckle slipped past his lips as he laid back into the damp grass, eyes regaining their usual shine again. "I'll never forget that look on his face when he threw himself at me while whispering, 'Love me forever, Gil. Because I already do love you forever.'" He threw an arm over his eyes as he drew in a shaky breath. "God… I really miss him."

Elizabeta watched on as her friend drew in more quavering breathes, each one pushing him closer and closer to breaking down. She reached over and started rubbing soothing circles into his arm as her eyes trailed upwards. A smile was on her face and she pointed upwards. "Hey Gil, look up there." Both men looked up and a grin managed to worm its way onto Gilbert's face. "It's a rainbow… Matthew's watching over you. Please don't cry, Gil. I don't want this to become Romeo and Juliet…"

"Yeah… I don't think Birdie would want that either…" He answered, red eyes watching the rainbow as it shimmered on above their heads. "So close yet so far…" _I really do love you and I always will. Rest in peace, Liebling._"

* * *

Matthew wasn't about to cry. No, there's no need for tears when he knows that the people he cares about the most, the people he left behind, are going to do well without him. He takes in a shaky breath as he turns and walks away from the lake, stopping to rest beneath the shade of a large tree. The little angel follows after him.

He covers his mouth with his hand as his violet eyes gaze off into the distance. He snapped out of it at the sound of her sweet voice and turns around to look at her. "Isn't it funny how when you're dead people start listening?" She questioned as she took a seat by him.

Fragments of his childhood came to mind, all those times as a child when he was forgotten… invisible. But then they started to drift over to those happier times, the times when he knew he could rely on the people around him. A voice rings in his head, "Birdie, you're never alone. Don't forget that. You're always surrounded by people who love you… please don't forget that."

And then he noticed that little knowing smile on her face and he smiled at her. "Yeah." He agreed, a hand raising to push back his blonde hair. "It's funny how I started listening to them when I'm dead…" He shifted in his seat, thinking, when he looked over at the small blonde. "Lili… Vash really misses you, you know that right?"

The look of surprise was just a fleeting expression, there one moment before it was pushed aside by a look of fondness. "Yeah, I know… but I also know that he knows I'm okay." Lili whispered, fiddling with the hem of her scarlet dress.

"You know… isn't it funny how one life can have such a big impact on a whole society?"

Matthew blinked once before answering. "… Ha ha, yeah… I guess."

"Every life is precious…"

"That's why you should treasure each and every one…"

Lili hums her agreement as both are swept away by memories of their past lives…


End file.
